Island Adventures

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31765, 23 August 1968, Page 2

Island Adventures

When she visited Rambi, a remote island in the Fijian group, about 300 miles from Suva, she made a three-day overland journey by horse to an isolated area where villagers had never seen a European woman before, Miss J. Remington told the Canterbury Travel Club yesterday morning.

When she arrived, after a hazardous journey which involved swimming a river on her horse, she was treated with great respect by the curious villagers. Everywhere she went she was surrounded by a wide circle of people who were too curious to leave her alone but too diffident to come any doser. There was a feast in her honour and the chief, who had been warned of her approach by the villagers who watched her travel the last four miles of her journey, had gone to enormous trouble to have the finest delicacies available. One of these was a dish of very small fish with eyes and entrails intact—rather like whitebait in appearance. These were served tn what seemed to be coconut milk and sour goats' milk, said Miss Remington.

Later the chief, who spoke quite good English, asked her if she would like a fresh egg.

She agreed and some villagers were sent to the nests of the village chickens. They proudly presented her with two warm eggs, which she presumed were freshly boiled. It was only when she came to eat them she discovered they were freshly laid. At bed time she got out her sleeping bag but the chief insisted that such an important guest must sleep in his tent, “with his Wife, children chickens, and numerous creepy-crawly creatures.” Miss Remington made the journey with a guide who did not speak a word of English and three Arab horses. Arab horses had been introduced to the island many years ago by an Englishman and they were now running wild. Lucky Escape At one stage, Miss Remington said, her horse stopped and no amount of coaxing could make him move. When her guide' dismounted he discovered the usual path had slipped away and if the horses had not sensed the danger they would have fallen hundreds of feet When she visited Ovaiau, she saw the Joyita, a motor vessel which 13 years ago disappeared for 35 day* after leaving Apia. None of the 25 persons on board was ever found.

The Fijians regard it a* voodoo and they will not touch it or take the goods

from it although they could make good use of them. The ship, which had a double cork hull, was virtually unsinkable and it lies on the beach on its side in almost perfect condition, said Miss Remington. Mystery Still No-one knows exactly what happened to the ship. There is no sign of violence and none of the personal possessions have been removed. Whatever happened must have happened suddenly because the occupant* were obviously in th* process of preparing * meal when disaster struck.

Mias Remington said she believed the theory put forward about an underwater volcano—the ship is supposed to have hit an underwater volcano and the passenger* went up on deck to see what was happening; the volcano erupted and the ship sank momentarily and all on board were lost Miss Remington, who was bom and educated in England, wilt marry a Christchurch man next week and settle in Sumter. She has trained for the real estate business and is also interested in renovating house*.